The Addams Family

This is an animated version of THE ADDAMS FAMILY television series. This is one of the most entertaining cartoons I have ever seen in my entire life. It's pretty nicely animated for a cartoon from the 1970's. It's strange and hilarious just like the live-action THE ADDAMS FAMILY television series. Kids will love it, but adults may enjoy the live action THE ADDAMS FAMILY television show more.

A Hanna-Barbera mistake: cartoon-izing Charles Addams' Goth family for cheap, low-rent yuks. In one of the episodes I was unfortunate enough to see, the Addams' were duped into a phony rocket ride to the moon (bad guys want to steal their house, which now doubles as the family car). So much of the action is spent on the sloppily-drawn villains that the main characters get lost in the shuffle (especially Wednesday and Pugsly, the latter voiced by a pre-teen Jodie Foster). Wouldn't kids get a bigger kick out of the Addams' just doing their spooky business at home? And why is so much time spent on the talky adults? Were they just easier to draw? The animation throughout (despite several Japanese names in the credits) is cheap and lousy, like Colorforms set to motion. They didn't even bother coloring in the whites of the villains' eyes. As for Foster, she chimes in with a line here and there: "Dad, look!", "A moon ride?", "Hey!" No wonder she never mentions this. It's a visual insult. *2005 UPDATE* a recent appearance on David Letterman's show prompted Foster to admit she did do cartoon work, "and lots of embarrassing things", in her early days!

Hanna Barbera have been responsible for some of my favourite cartoons, primarily The Flintstones, Tom and Jerry and Scooby Doo Where Are You? The Addams Family was another childhood favourite, and I still enjoy it to this day, if not as much as the mentioned titles.

The animation is not amazing I will admit, with some backgrounds lacking finesse and fluidity and some of the character designs particularly with the eyes looked at times static and unfinished. I will say though, I did like the atmospheric colours.

But the music is great, with one of the coolest intros of any Hanna Barbera show and incidental music that never feels too gimmicky. The story lines, stemming from a great concept, are lively and fun if a tad on the predictable side, and the characters are still wonderful, my favourites being Fester and Gomez, though Morticia is very sexy.

Of the voice cast, which is all rock-solid from all involved, Jackie Coogan stands out as Fester, he puts such enthusiasm into the role without over-doing it too much. But what made me love The Addams Family the most was the writing. There are some truly hilarious jokes that are never too sophisticated or childish, instead it is all very witty.

All in all, very enjoyable. 9/10 Bethany Cox